One of my favorite quotes "Earth laughs in flowers..." It's 4 words that I read somewhere, probably on a bumper sticker or something. I've used that quote in art projects and just general writing and such many times. I didn't know who was being "quoted" at first, but eventually I looked it up and saw that it is R W Emerson. Ok, so I did that much of my homework, but I never actually read the poem from start to finish. I gave it my own interpretation, mostly being a positive spin such as when the Earth, Mother Nature, I guess, is happy or content, She laughs. That laughter becomes the beauty that Earth spills forth...flowers, and streams, and trees, and bees... You get the idea, right? Well, today I looked up the poem again. I READ it, all of it. And I am surprised at what it actually means, at least my interpretation of it. In this writing, this outpouring of Emerson's creativity, Earth is not quite so jovial. She is, in fact laughing AT us. She is cracking up at the fact that we as humans think we are all powerful, in control, beyond harm, and oh so important... Masters of our world, and owners of all things. She "laughs in flowers" over our graves, at our vanity, and our insistence on calling the world around us "ours", devaluing it as merely a possession. She laughs when I say "MY garden is so pretty", because she knows that regardless of my existence, her garden will still exist, and with the flora of Her choosing. It makes me remember that our time here, our space that we carve out for ourselves here, is merely borrowed, in the grand scheme of things. Borrowed. I know there are many other issues being addressed in this writing, politics and such, that I know little about. But for me, it was a bit sobering and humbling to finally understand the depth of it, beyond the superficial "pretty" words that have been plucked from such a profound piece of literature, and that I have been using so frivolously in my own creativity.So, if I haven't bored you yet with my "way deeper than usual" chatter, below is this poem, in its entirety, for your reading pleasure. I, having done my literature homework for the day, am going outside into THE garden to paint a little of Earth's laughter...

HamatreyaBY RALPH WALDO EMERSONBulkeley, Hunt, Willard, Hosmer, Meriam, Flint,Possessed the land which rendered to their toilHay, corn, roots, hemp, flax, apples, wool, and wood.Each of these landlords walked amidst his farm,Saying, “’Tis mine, my children’s and my name’s.How sweet the west wind sounds in my own trees!How graceful climb those shadows on my hill!I fancy these pure waters and the flagsKnow me, as does my dog: we sympathize;And, I affirm, my actions smack of the soil.”

Where are these men? Asleep beneath their grounds:And strangers, fond as they, their furrows plough.Earth laughs in flowers, to see her boastful boysEarth-proud, proud of the earth which is not theirs;Who steer the plough, but cannot steer their feetClear of the grave.They added ridge to valley, brook to pond,And sighed for all that bounded their domain;“This suits me for a pasture; that’s my park;We must have clay, lime, gravel, granite-ledge,And misty lowland, where to go for peat.The land is well,—lies fairly to the south.’Tis good, when you have crossed the sea and back,To find the sitfast acres where you left them.”

Ah! the hot owner sees not Death, who addsHim to his land, a lump of mould the more.Hear what the Earth say:--

EARTH-SONG

“Mine and yours; Mine, not yours. Earth endures; Stars abide-- Shine down in the old sea; Old are the shores; But where are old men? I who have seen much, Such have I never seen.

“The lawyer’s deed Ran sure, In tail, To them and to their heirs Who shall succeed, Without fail, Forevermore.

“Here is the land, Shaggy with wood, With its old valley, Mound and flood. But the heritors?-- Fled like the flood's foam. The lawyer and the laws, And the kingdom, Clean swept herefrom.

“They called me theirs, Who so controlled me; Yet every one Wished to stay, and is gone, How am I theirs, If they cannot hold me, But I hold them?”

When I heard the Earth-songI was no longer brave;My avarice cooledLike lust in the chill of the grave.

This Picture Of The Day is a clock. Yep, it is. I think it's fitting to doodle a clock during the last hour of the last day of my daily creativity blogging assignment. I'll get it done today, March 31st, but it won't get posted until after midnight because I am flying until then. I guess that's why I chose a clock to doodle for my Zentangle today (see post at the beginning of the month). Time does get away from me, as it does for most people I suppose. I've learned this past month that I can make TIME to do what I want, if I really want to. And I think that's the kicker for most people- learning to say yes to the things that really matter to you, and No, or Maybe Later, to the things that don't matter as much. Or NO to all of it. This is why my house is not spotless, and sometimes I'm still in my PJs at noon. Here's a link to a blog that I found interesting today. Dreama Tolle Perry is a writer and teacher, and an incredible artist, too! She hits the nail on the head for me and how life works most if the time, as far as passions and time management go. I think it's worth reading :-)Hope you've enjoyed this last month of sharing art and thoughts with you. I'm planning to keep up the once a day creativity thing, just won't write about it everyday. But please check back or follow on FB. I'll use the extra time to post pictures, or doodle, or sleep :-) Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog this month!! Hope you find TIME to do something crEaTivE today!!

One more day left in March! One more daily post to be done after this one. I have to say, it's really made me focus on doing something creative everyday, even when I didn't feel like it. Today's creative work was to witness a couple say their vows and become husband and wife. Time well spent, I must say. this was followed by the creating of my "feed bag" for my trip tomorrow. Sad to say, I leave in the morning for a 14 day stretch away from home. Don't feel too bad, though. 5 of those days will be spent going to Napa Valley for Live in the Vineyard! I'll come back and get busy in the studio again, getting ready for the Mayfest Arts Fair. I wasn't going to post this until it is officially released, but... below is the poster that I designed for the event! The logos will be changed so they don't have a box around them, but this is pretty much IT. I'm quite proud of it! I kinda like the idea of learning more in the graphic arts field so I could do more things like this. It's been really fun! :)

Pronunciation - Guit- as in guitar without the "ar", then "fiddle". Guitfiddle. Git-fiddle.

So it's just a made up word used to describe a string instrument that can be used to ROCK IT OUT on occasion, even if it's not known to do such craziness. This came about years ago to describe Mark Greenawalt's 12-string guitar that thought it was a fiddle, steel guitar, or, at times, a Fender Stratocaster, when we played at Tootsie's. Good times...sigh...

Anywho- this painting is already spoken for, and it was really fun to paint!!! What should I name it? Who's next??? What else ya got???

Today I got some really good news!! I stumbled into the opportunity to design the poster for the Mayfest Art Fair here in Lexington this year! I got confirmation today and began painting the design for it. Below is a little snippet of it. It's just a little bite, because I want to do the "reveal" once it's completely done. I'm so excited to have been in the right place at the right time to be offered this project! I'll now have a booth at the festival as part of my compensation, too!! Sooooo...If you're looking for a reason to come to Lexington's 20th Annual Mayfest Arts Fair, here it is!!! That's where I will be May 10 & 11th!!And in other news...My painting "Heritage", the church-turned-antiques-store, has been accepted into the Art Movement Gallery! Soon it will have a temporary home in some fabulous local business, and hopefully will find it's new forever home with someone who loves it as much as I do. :)

Dreama Tolle Perry has been hosting workshops the last 5 days at The Artists' Attic, where I have my studio. I didn't take the class, but I did take this picture as the sun was going down one evening, and after everyone had gone for the day. I thought it was such a beautiful scene, with row upon row of easels and sunflowers, all created by different people with different visions, and different ideas, different hopes, and different lives. I really enjoyed walking through and seeing the processes and the struggles, talking to some of them about why they were there, what they hoped to learn... She brought a really nice energy to the studio. I think I wanna be like her when I grow up :)

So today someone said to me, and I quote, "You're just weird enough to appreciate this..." I wasn't sure if I was insulted or flattered. I opted for flattered. And by the way, I did appreciate it. Tremendously. The picture I'm sharing today is a picture of my studio from the window outside of it. Color and chaos. just the way I like it.

So when I was in high school I used to draw a bit. I LOVED horses, too. Recently I found the "How to draw" book I had back then- Horses! Brings back some warm and fuzzy feelings from my younger days. So today drew a few things while hanging out on the couch watching it snow. Then sleet. Then blizzard. Then get sunny and melt it all. Then snow again. Oh, yeah, horses... So here's a sketch of a sassy horse bringing me flowers.(below) I figure I DO live in horse country so why not? Maybe tomorrow I'll get back to painting something. :-) Happy Spring!

Heritage Antiques in Lexington, corner of Church Street and Broadway. My fun and funky version of it :-)

This was the 3rd day in a row that I have gone to my studio at The Artists' Attic to do some work. I am doing quite well getting in focus when I get there. I started this painting the other day, finished it up today. I went inside the "church" yesterday to get a feel for it (see post on 3/22) and was blown away by the fantastic place. What used to be the youth group area would make a fabulous loft - just sayin'! But anywho, here's my latest creation. Tomorrow I hope to go back for a bit before I have to leave for work. Not sure what I will do next, but I just got a new 32 x 40 canvas that is begging for some color :) Any suggestions for what gets painted next?